Provinces of Finland

Not to be confused with regions of Finland, historical provinces of Finland, or Regional State Administrative Agency.

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Between 1634 and 2009, Finland was administered as several provinces (Finnish: läänit, Swedish: län). The provincial authorities were part of the central government's executive branch, rather than being directly elected. The system was initially created in 1634. Its makeup was changed drastically in 1997, when the number of the provinces was reduced from twelve to six. This effectively made them purely administrative units, as linguistic and cultural boundaries no longer followed the borders of the provinces. The provinces were eventually abolished at the end of 2009.

Duties

Each province was led by a governor (Finnish maaherra, Swedish landshövding) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the cabinet. The governor was the head of the State Provincial Office (Finnish lääninhallitus, Swedish länsstyrelse), which acted as the joint regional authority for seven ministries in the following domains:

social services and health care
education and culture
police administration
rescue services
traffic administration
competition and consumer affairs
judicial administration

The official administrative subentities under the Provincial Office authorities were the Registry Offices (Finnish maistraatti, Swedish magistrat). Formerly there was also a division to state local districts (Finnish kihlakunta, Swedish härad), which were districts for police, prosecution, and bailiff services, but there was reorganization such that 24 police districts were founded. These usually encompass multiple municipalities.

Provinces governed only state offices, such as the police. Most services, such as healthcare and maintenance of local streets, were and remain today the responsibility of municipalities of Finland. Many municipalities are too small for a hospital and some other services, so they cooperate in municipality groups, e.g. health care districts, using borders that vary depending on the type of service. Often Swedish-language municipalities cooperate even if they do not share a border.

List of all provinces that ever existed

In 1634, administratives provinces were formed in Sweden, and therefore in Finland, which was a part of Sweden until 1809. Five of the provinces covered what is now Finland; some of these also covered parts of what are now Russia. The exact division of the country into provinces has fluctuated over time.

The boundaries of the old provinces partly survive in telephone area codes and electoral districts. The exception is Helsinki: there is a telephone numbering area that comprises Greater Helsinki (code 09), while only the city of Helsinki proper comprises the electoral district of Helsinki, the rest of Greater Helsinki belonging to the Uusimaa electoral district.

Map number	English name	Finnish name	Swedish name	Residence city	Dates of existence	Notes
1	Province of Turku and Pori	Turun ja Porin lääni	Åbo och Björneborgs län	Turku	1634–1997	• one of the original provinces formed in 1634, though parts were split off since then • merged into the Province of Western Finland
14	Province of Nyland and Tavastehus	Uudenmaan ja Hämeen lääni	Nylands och Tavastehus län	Helsinki / Hämeenlinna	1634–1831	• one of the original provinces formed in 1634
18	Province of Ostrobothnia	Pohjanmaan lääni	Österbottens län	Oulu / Vaasa	1634–1775	• one of the original provinces formed in 1634
20	Province of Viborg and Nyslott	Viipurin ja Savonlinnan lääni	Viborgs och Nyslotts län	Vyborg	1634–1721	• one of the original provinces formed in 1634
21	Province of Kexholm	Käkisalmen lääni	Kexholms län	Kexholm	1634–1721	• one of the original provinces formed in 1634
19	Province of Kymmenegård and Nyslott	Savonlinnan ja Kymenkartanon lääni	Kymmenegårds och Nyslotts län	Lappeenranta	1721–1747	• former Province of Viborg and Nyslott
17	Province of Savolax and Kymmenegård	Kymenkartanon ja Savon lääni	Savolax och Kymmenegårds län	Loviisa	1747–1775	• former Province of Kymmenegård and Nyslott
4	Province of Vaasa	Vaasan lääni	Vasa län	Vaasa	1775–1997	• split off from the Province of Ostrobothnia • merged into the Province of Western Finland
10	Province of Oulu	Oulun lääni	Uleåborgs län	Oulu	1775–2009	• split off from the Province of Ostrobothnia
15	Province of Kymmenegård	Kymenkartanon lääni	Kymmenegårds län	Heinola	1775–1831	• split off from the Province of Savolax and Kymmenegård
16	Province of Savolax and Karelia	Savon ja Karjalan lääni	Savolax och Karelens län	Kuopio	1775–1831	• split off from the Province of Savolax and Kymmenegård
13	Province of Viipuri	Viipurin lääni	Viborgs län	Vyborg	1812–1947	• Russian Vyborg Governorate 1744-1812; transferred as Province of Viipuri to autonomic Grand Duchy of Finland in 1812 • most of its area was lost to the Soviet Union in World War II, and the remainder became the Province of Kymi
2	Province of Uusimaa	Uudenmaan lääni	Nylands län	Helsinki	1831–1997	• produced by splitting the Province of Nyland and Tavastehus • merged into the Province of Southern Finland
3	Province of Häme	Hämeen lääni	Tavastehus län	Hämeenlinna	1831–1997	• produced by splitting the Province of Nyland and Tavastehus • merged into the Provinces of Southern Finland and Western Finland
6	Province of Mikkeli	Mikkelin lääni	St. Michels län	Mikkeli	1831–1997	• former Province of Kymmenegård • merged into the Provinces of Eastern Finland and Southern Finland
8	Province of Kuopio	Kuopion lääni	Kuopio län	Kuopio	1831–1997	• former Province of Savolax and Karelia • merged into the Province of Eastern Finland
12	Province of Åland	Ahvenanmaan lääni	Ålands län	Mariehamn	1918–2009	• had a special status: even though the province was discontinued at the end of 2009 along with the others, there was (and still is) a coextensive "maakunta" (a translation of "province" with a slightly different meaning from the usual) that is semi-autonomous and demilitarized by international treaties
25	Province of Petsamo	Petsamon lääni	Petsamo län	Pechenga	1921–1921	• gained from Soviet Russia • merged into the Province of Oulu • the entire area of the former Province of Pechenga was lost to the Soviet Union in World War II
11	Province of Lapland	Lapin lääni	Lapplands län	Rovaniemi	1938–2009	• split off from the Province of Oulu
5	Province of Kymi	Kymen lääni	Kymmene län	Kouvola	1945–1997	• formed from the part of the Province of Viipuri that remained on the Finnish side of the border with Russia • merged into the Province of Southern Finland
7	Province of Central Finland	Keski-Suomen lääni	Mellersta Finlands län	Jyväskylä	1960–1997	• split off from the Provinces of Vaasa, Häme, Mikkeli and Kuopio • merged into the Province of Western Finland
9	Province of Northern Karelia	Pohjois-Karjalan lääni	Norra Karelens län	Joensuu	1960–1997	• split off from the Province of Kuopio • merged into the Province of Eastern Finland
22	Province of Southern Finland	Etelä-Suomen lääni	Södra Finlands län	Hämeenlinna	1997–2009	• merged from Provinces of Uusimaa, Kymi, Häme (part) and Mikkeli (part)
23	Province of Western Finland	Länsi-Suomen lääni	Västra Finlands län	Turku	1997–2009	• merged from Provinces of Turku and Pori, Vaasa, Central Finland and Häme (part)
24	Province of Eastern Finland	Itä-Suomen lääni	Östra Finlands län	Mikkeli	1997–2009	• merged from Provinces of Kuopio, Northern Karelia and Michelle

Geographical evolution of provincial administration

Provinces of Finland 1634: 1: Turku and Pori, 14: Nyland and Tavastehus, 18: Ostrobothnia, 20: Viborg and Nyslott, 21: Kexholm	Provinces of Finland 1721: 1: Turku and Pori, 14: Nyland and Tavastehus, 18: Ostrobothnia, 19: Kymmenegård and Nyslott	Provinces of Finland 1747: 1: Turku and Pori, 14: Nyland and Tavastehus, 17: Savolax and Kymmenegård, 18: Ostrobothnia	Provinces of Finland 1776: 1: Turku and Pori, 4: Vaasa, 10: Oulu, 14: Nyland and Tavastehus, 15: Kymmenegård, 16: Savolax and Karelia
Provinces of Finland 1812:1: Turku and Pori, 4: Vaasa, 10: Oulu, 13: Viipuri, 14: Nyland and Tavastehus, 15: Kymmenegård, 16: Savolax and Karelia	Provinces of Finland 1831: 1: Turku and Pori, 2: Uusimaa, 3: Häme, 4: Vaasa, 6: Mikkeli, 8: Kuopio, 10: Oulu, 13: Viipuri	Provinces of Finland 1921: 1: Turku and Pori, 2: Uusimaa, 3: Häme, 4: Vaasa, 6: Mikkeli, 8: Kuopio, 10: Oulu, 12: Åland, 13: Viipuri, 25: Petsamo	Provinces of Finland 1938: 1: Turku and Pori, 2: Uusimaa, 3: Häme, 4: Vaasa, 6: Mikkeli, 8: Kuopio, 10: Oulu, 11: Lapland, 12: Åland, 13: Viipuri
Provinces of Finland 1945: 1: Turku and Pori, 2: Uusimaa, 3: Häme, 4: Vaasa, 5: Kymi, 6: Mikkeli, 8: Kuopio, 10: Oulu, 11: Lapland, 12: Åland	Provinces of Finland 1960: 1: Turku and Pori, 2: Uusimaa, 3: Häme, 4: Vaasa, 5: Kymi, 6: Mikkeli, 7: Central Finland, 8: Kuopio, 9: Northern Karelia, 10: Oulu, 11: Lapland, 12: Åland	Provinces of Finland 1996: 1: Turku and Pori, 2: Uusimaa, 3: Häme, 4: Vaasa, 5: Kymi, 6: Mikkeli, 7: Central Finland, 8: Kuopio, 9: Northern Karelia, 10: Oulu, 11: Lapland, 12: Åland	Provinces of Finland 1997: 10: Oulu, 11: Lapland, 12: Åland, 22: Southern Finland, 23: Western Finland, 24: Eastern Finland

Provinces of Finland as at abolition

No.	Provinces	Finnish and Swedish names	Residence city	Largest city	Population (2003)	Area (km²)	Merged Provinces (1997)
1.	Southern Finland	Etelä-Suomen lääni Södra Finlands län	Hämeenlinna Tavastehus	Helsinki	2,116,914	34,378	Uusimaa, Kymi, Häme
2.	Western Finland	Länsi-Suomen lääni Västra Finlands län	Turku Åbo	Tampere	1,848,269	74,185	Vaasa, Turku-Pori, Central Finland, Häme
3.	Eastern Finland	Itä-Suomen lääni Östra Finlands län	Mikkeli S:t Michel	Kuopio	582,781	48,726	Kuopio, North Karelia, Mikkeli
4.	Oulu	Oulun lääni Uleåborgs län	Oulu Uleåborg	Oulu	458,504	57,000	No changes
5.	Lapland	Lapin lääni Lapplands län	Rovaniemi Rovaniemi	Rovaniemi	186,917	98,946	No changes
6.	Åland^[a]	Ahvenanmaan lääni Ålands län^[b]	Mariehamn^[b] Maarianhamina	Mariehamn	26,000	6,784	No changes

a. ^ Some duties, which in Mainland Finland are handled by the provinces, are on the Åland Islands transferred to the autonomous Government of Åland.
b. ^ The Åland Islands are unilingually Swedish.

After abolition

The provinces were abolished altogether effective 1 January 2010. Since then, the regional administration of the Finnish state has two parallel top-level organs in the hierarchy: the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment on the one hand, and the Regional State Administrative Agencies on the other.

Six Regional State Administrative Agencies (aluehallintovirasto, regionförvaltningsverk, abbr. avi) – in addition to the Government of Åland – are primarily responsible for law enforcement. Among these, South-Western Finland and Western and Central Finland cover the former province of Western Finland, and the former province of Oulu was revamped as Northern Finland; other old provincial boundaries remain much the same in the new disposition.

In parallel, there are 15 Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (Finnish: elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus, usually abbreviated ely-keskus), which are responsible for other state administration: employment, road and transport infrastructure, and environmental monitoring. They are each responsible for one or more of regions of Finland, and include offices of the Ministries of Employment and the Economy, Transport and Communications and Environment.

External links

State Provincial Offices – Official site

Former provinces of Finland

In parentheses are years when provinces were established and disestablished.

1634–1775	Turku and Pori (1634) Nyland and Tavastehus (1634) Ostrobothnia (1634–1775) Viborg and Nyslott (1634–1721) Kexholm (1634–1721) Kymmenegård and Nyslott (1721–1747) Savolax and Kymmenegård (1747–1775)

1775–1831	Turku and Pori (1634) Nyland and Tavastehus (1634–1831) Vaasa (1775) Oulu (1775) Kymmenegård (1775–1831) Savolax and Karelia (1775–1831) Viipuri (1812)

1831–1918	Turku and Pori (1634) Vaasa (1775) Oulu (1775) Viipuri (1812) Häme (1831) Uusimaa (1831) Mikkeli (1831) Kuopio (1831)

1918–1997	Turku and Pori (1634–1997) Vaasa (1775–1997) Oulu (1775) Viipuri (1812–1945) Häme (1831–1997) Uusimaa (1831–1997) Mikkeli (1831–1997) Kuopio (1831–1997) Åland (1918) Petsamo (1921–1921) Lapland (1938) Kymi (1945–1997) Central Finland (1960–1997) Northern Karelia (1960–1997)

1997–2009	Oulu (1775–2009) Åland (1918–2009) Lapland (1938–2009) Southern Finland (1997–2009) Western Finland (1997–2009) Eastern Finland (1997–2009)

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